Round One
by LIMBO Dib
Summary: Remember the first few Chao in the Chao Karate you fought in Sonic Adventure 2: Battle?  This is a story of their lives.  Follow their tears, sadness, attempted suicide, romance...and hope.


Chaosky looked up and took in every little detail about his opponent. Apparently, his name was Kale, and he was nothing but a red Chao with an assortment of different animals - perhaps a peacock tail, raccoon ears, boar paws, and vulture wings. He was obviously a beginner's Chao.

Omochao shot him a look, telling him to get ready. Chaosky got down on his stomach and made a whining sound, similar to that of an infant's. At almost the same time, Kale made a humming sound. Omochao raised its red and white flags, and the match began.

Chaosky wondered just how slow Kale was. His question was answered as Kale crawled up to him and hit him. Chaosky cringed as his health and stamina went down. Kale smiled a bit, and Chaosky crawled up to him and hit him in the exact same manner.

_Who cares anymore? _the Chao asked himself, _It's not like I'm going to win or anything. I'm never going to be raised again. I won't even evolve. ___However, since Kale hadn't been raised all that much, the battle was much longer than it could have been.

Tiny punching and kicking sounds filled the air as the two Chao battled. Chaosky put barely any effort into his attacks. He already knew he wasn't going to win. And he was right - despite Kale's health going much farther down than Chaosky expected, the little Chao lost.

Omochao's red flag went up as a sign of victory for Kale. Chaosky fake-cried while secretly watching his opponent's victory dance. _Good luck, novice, _he thought bitterly, watching as Chaolin, the next Chao in the match, crawled up to Chaosky.

"It's my turn," Chaolin muttered softly. There was a red mark on her face - probably from some sort of self-abuse earlier. Chaolin hated her life - it was obvious simply from the way she spoke - darkly and sadly. She began applying loads of blue blush on her face to cover the mark as Chaosky left the arena.

_Urgh, _the Chao thought. A slow, throbbing pain was going through his entire body as he stood up and walked away, right into the pagoda behind the arena. As he began sticking adhesive medical strips onto himself at random, he heard the cry of pain that meant Kale had lost his match against Chaolin.

Through the translucent screens around the little place, Chaosky spotted Chaolin and watched her almost suicidally jump off of the platform and hurry into the pagoda. "I beat the little nerd," she told Chaosky while absentmindedly wondering if she could drown herself in the nearby fountain.

Chaosky gave Chaolin a look as she planted her face firmly in the fountain's gushing spray. Chaosky would've admired its beauty if it weren't for Chaolin's faint blubbering sounds from within. Chaosky knew that this was going to be yet another failed suicide attempt.

A pair of humans - disgusting creatures, according to most of the Chao - rushed in and yanked Chaolin from the fountain's water. She coughed madly and spat a jet of water in one man's face. He cursed loudly as he threw Chaolin up against the wall before walking away.

"Are you okay?" Chaosky asked quietly, helping his friend struggle to her feet. She sighed and paused as the water dripping down her face and body washed away the makeup she wore while in the arena. Scars covered every inch of her blue skin. A noticeably huge one was right under her eye, as a matter of fact.

Chaosky tried to look away, but Chaolin's scars weren't something he got to see every day. They looked like red worms, crawling all over her in every place imaginable, along with the red mark on her face. Finally, he noticed Chaolin's annoyed look and quickly restricted himself by staring at his feet.

"Sorry," he told her, "It's just...I don't get to see those scars all that much. You don't even look like yourself with them." The little Chao felt his face grow red as Chaolin sighed yet again, her annoyed expression fading away into a straight, bored look.

"It's fine," she responded, "Stare all you want. After all, they're just reminders of how close I'm getting to achieving my goal - death. Chaosky, you may be my best - and only - friend, but...I'm going to die. There's nothing you can do about it...I'm sorry."

"You can't," Chaosky muttered, "There's no way. Any weapons you have are confiscated by those dirty humans. You can't drown yourself or jump off any ledges - they'll rescue you. We're caught in an endless spiral - there's no way for Chao to die without anything on hand."

"You're right." Chaolin answered, tears peaking on the rims of her dark eyes. _Beautiful dark eyes, _Chaosky thought. _If only we could stay together. If only I could...love you...If only. _He couldn't help it - he loved Chaolin with his whole heart. However, at the moment, she was crying.

"Don't cry, Chaolin," Chaosky murmured softly, "Please don't cry. I love you, remember? We'll find a way out of this. I know we will." Secretly, he knew there wouldn't be a way out - his comforting words were hopeless and empty. The very thought made him feel like crying as well.

"...I love you, too, Chaosky." Chaolin breathed. The words were swirling around frantically in Chaosky's mind as she leaned in to kiss him. The moment seemed so perfect, so right - and yet...they could never be together. No one would allow it.

Just as the two Chao were about to kiss, a human stepped in, stomping his foot firmly on the ground and frightening the two Chao out of their romantic moment. "What are you two doing?" he cried, pulling Chaolin away, "Chaolin, that's disgusting. Put your makeup back on, now."

Chaolin moaned quietly and began putting more makeup on, concealing her scars. Chaosky watched her walk away and wished he could just...make her happy. She hadn't been happy since before they were ever captured in this eternal, neverending prison...

xXx

The baby Chao sat next to the tree, eating a brightly-colored fruit. He occasionally stole a glance at the egg sitting in the middle of the garden. He couldn't help but wonder what was inside - or, for that matter, _who _was inside. He wasn't sure which word to use.

The blue hedgehog - apparently named Sonic - was wandering aimlessly around the garden, often pausing and looking up at the sky with a blank expression. The baby Chao wondered what was going on in Sonic's head. _Maybe he's thinking about giving me more of those...things, _the Chao thought happily.

The "things" he was thinking about were Chaos Drives, which Sonic had brought for him that day. That day was also the day of his birth - he had just hatched a few hours ago, and was loving life from the start. However, it was the egg that was commanding his total attention at the moment.

Suddenly, a tiny crack appeared in its shell. The baby Chao watched, completely entranced, as a tiny paw emerged, attempting to break the egg into two halves and get out. Leaving the fruit behind, he crawled over to the egg and helped to separate the shell.

With the help of the baby Chao, whatever owned the arm succeeded - the top part of the eggshell was tossed away without warning, revealing...a baby Chao who looked almost exactly like the one who had helped it escape. For a moment, the two of them only stared into the other's eyes.

"Thanks for helping me," the new Chao told the other a few minutes later (after being given fruit and a larger amount of Chaos Drives), "My name's Chaolin." Chaolin - it became a name the other Chao was sure to remember. He would remember it for the rest of his endless life.

"I'm Chaosky!" he told Chaolin, smiling.

xXx

"Sir?" Chaosky asked, facing a nearby human and finding it rather disgusting, "D-do you mind if I take a little walk around the immediate vicinity?" At first, the human didn't respond, but when he repeated his message, the human whirled around and noticed him.

"Sure, whatever," the ugly creature responded, "We'll call you when it's your turn to fight." Chaosky nodded and left the pagoda silently. A whole new kind of sadness washed over him as he remembered the good times he had spent with Chaolin before they had become stuck here.

_Poor Chaolin, _he thought, _She just doesn't understand that it's impossible for us to die. We can never leave this world. We're stuck..._He almost felt tears come to his eyes, but he pushed them back. He decided to forget about Chaolin for a little while and visit the other Chao.

The first Chao he passed was Dinner, who had removed the pan that he had to wear in the arena to hide his missing eye. He had cut it out in an attempt to kill himself, but had failed, and was now forced to wear a pan as his punishment. At the moment, he was staring into the bottom of the pan dejectedly.

As he went around the corner of the karate area, he saw Happy. The apple Happy always wore had been roughly torn off, revealing her tipsy, lopsided face. After being diagnosed with mental retardation, she had learned to ease the pain she felt by doing drugs.

At the moment, Happy was trying to smoke a Chaos Drive - the only thing she _could _smoke, by the looks of it. It looked horrible, but Chaosky let it slide. Happy didn't seem to know any better - besides, he would be smoking as well if it eased his pain - which it didn't.

Chaosky's walk kept progressing, and as it did, he passed Stormy - a hero-power Chao with a red and yellow striped hat. She never took her hat off - after severely damaging her brain by banging her head on the edge of the marble fountain and walking on the path to insanity, her hat was permanently glued to her disfigured face.

Stormy's older brothers, Spooky and Stinky, were nearby. They also wore wool hats, but they did it out of respect for their poor sister. Like Stormy, they never removed their hats, but other than that, they appeared to be perfectly normal...at least, through Chaosky's eyes.

"Hi, Chaosky," Stinky told him, "What's going on with you...You look sad. Is it about Chaolin?" Chaosky had the feeling that under Stinky's wool hat was a look of genuine compassion. Chaosky sighed and shook his head, staring down at his feet.

"It's...nothing, guys," Chaosky answered, "It's absolutely nothing." Stinky shrugged and returned to playing cards with Spooky.

Stormy was sitting a few feet away, sweating (even though it was freezing cold outside) and muttering to herself. Chaosky walked away, trying to put that image of Stormy out of his head.

However, the next image that entered his head was just as bad, if not worse. Standing nearby was Wacky, injecting himself with all sorts of steroids to make up for his bad grade and low level in his Run stat. He glared at Chaosky before injecting more anabolic steroids into his arm.

As he walked, Chaosky began to wonder what the point was. _Why can't Chaolin and I just die? _he thought miserably, _Why can't we just leave this world and advance to a new one...a better one? _He sighed, wishing there was a solution to the puzzle he was trapped in.

xXx

Chaolin had no idea how long she and Chaosky had been together. Despite the fact that the Chaos Drives they had once gotten regularly were now gone, they still had eachother. And, according to Chaolin, that was enough. Enough to keep her going forever.

Time itself seemed to go especially slow for the two Chao. It was like they were living through a long, seemingly neverending day. The sun shone down on them as they ate, played, and sang together. It was obvious from the start that they were best friends.

On one star-filled night, the black and red hedgehog - apparently called Shadow - sat on the edge of the rocks and stared up at the sky. "I wonder why he seems so sad," Chaosky remarked, "It's like he never cheers up. Maybe something's wrong..."

"I don't think so," Chaolin, the ever-positive, responded, "I think there must be something special in the stars. Want to go see?" Chaosky nodded happily as the two of them sat down on one of the rocky ledges and stared up at the star-splattered sky.

After a few minutes, Chaosky realized he couldn't see any secret message at all. "Do you see anything, Chaolin?" he asked, "I don't see anything special." He paused as Chaolin turned to face him and smiled as she grabbed his hand and wouldn't let go.

"The stars are beautiful," Chaolin whispered, "Chaosky...Thank you for being my friend." Chaosky blushed as she looked up again and stared at the stars. He looked up at well, and something clicked in his head that day. That was the day he first fell in love with Chaolin.

xXx

Chaosky kept walking, but then realized that he had almost made a full lap around the area. He paused and turned around...somehow finding himself face-to-face with Flash, the final Chao in the entire karate. The Light Chaos Chao's blank eyes affixed themselves firmly on Chaosky.

"Hello, Chaosky," Flash greeted, his onyx skin shining brilliantly despite the cloudy skies, "Is something wrong?" Flash could always tell when a Chao had something on their mind - it was a special ability of his. Chaosky sighed, accepting the fact that he would have to tell Flash the whole story.

"Well..." Chaosky began, "...You know Chaolin, right?" Flash nodded silently. "I...well, I love her. I have loved her for the longest time, but...all she wants to do is die. I want to fulfill her wish, but at the same time, I want to die alongside her, so we can be together forever. But-"

"May I interrupt?" Flash asked, "It seems as though none of the Chao in the karate even know the proper way to die. Sure, they try suicide, but it never works. The humans will always stop you. And there's no way to escape...the electric fences prevent that."

Chaosky took a brief moment to stare at the electric fences that would forever surround the karate area. They would hurt, but they wouldn't kill - it was a major letdown for most of the Chao. Noticing where Chaosky's attention was directed, Flash stared at the fence with empty eyes.

"You do know the proper way to die, right? It's actually simple," the Chaos Chao explained, "All you need to do is channel death throughout your emotions. I was always told this, but I never felt I needed to die. Now, I wish I still had a chance..."

Chaosky was astounded about what Flash said. He had never heard of a proper way to die before. "Why can't you die, Flash?" he asked, "If I can die properly, can't you? It has to be possible...right? Wouldn't you have died a long time ago?" Flash's lifeless eyes sparkled with tears as he shook his head.

"No, it's not possible." he answered. "Once I became a Chaos Chao, I was granted both invincibility and immortality. I'm stuck here forever, and my only consolation is with the other Chaos Chao, Angel and Crystal." He sighed, remembering the Angel and Devil Chaos Chao and wondering where they were.

"That's horrible," Chaosky remarked, "but...Flash, before I go...Can you give me any advice on how to deal with my love for Chaolin?" Flash sighed and shook his head once more, tears running freely down his onyx cheeks. Chaosky couldn't help but feel sorry for the Chaos Chao.

"Chaosky..." Flash began, "I...I am in love with someone as well. Angel, the Devil Chaos Chao...she is my true love. If you love Chaolin, just say so. Judging from her behavior while around you, I can guess she loves you, too. There's no reason to be shy." The Chaos Chao turned around and began to walk away.

"Wait! Flash!" Chaosky called, watching him leave the area, "Flash! Please, wait!" Flash didn't stop. As a matter of fact, he began to speed up, taking off at an unmeasurable speed. Chaosky watched him go, wishing he could think of something to say - however, nothing came to mind.

But just before he decided to return to the pagoda, he heard Flash's voice in his head. "Don't worry, Chaosky," it said, "Chaolin will love you forever and ever. Just like me and Angel...Never give up on her, Chaosky. There are other things you can give up on, but not her."

And suddenly, Chaosky knew exactly what to do.

xXx

After the night of Chaosky and Chaolin staring up at the stars, things were...different. The two Chao still played together, but Chaosky was...hesitant. He was dizzy - madly in love and unable to stand up straight. On one day in particular, he was running alongside her and suddenly collapsed.

"Chaosky?" Chaolin asked, helping him up, "Are you okay?" Chaosky's face went red when he saw the somewhat-romantic look in her eyes. He nodded, too nervous to say a thing. Chaolin giggled and held his hand as they ran off together. Chaosky wouldn't stop blushing.

However, all good things must come to an end, as they say. Despite the fact that this is not true - good things can last forever - it was how it was for Chaosky and Chaolin. On that day, Sonic had been in their garden, and was petting them both when the petting stopped abruptly.

"What happened?" Chaosky asked. However, his question was ignored, and he heard Chaolin gasp. A creature they had never seen before was standing in the garden. He was tall, and looked a little like Sonic, but more...well, his head was smaller, and he was wearing some sort of strange...garment.

"Oh!" Sonic cried, rushing up to the strange creature, "Mr. Jones! How are you?" The creature laughed and was instantly involved in a deep conversation with Sonic. They appeared to be muttering about...something...with their heads close together. Chaosky wondered if they were telling secrets.

Finally, their conversation ended as they stared up at the cave behind the waterfall. Chaosky and Chaolin had always been told never to go there - it was too dangerous. However, the way they stared at it made Chaolin feel uncomfortable. Their stares were almost...hungry. It was scary.

To help ease her fears, Chaolin clutched Chaosky's paw firmly in hers. Chaosky blushed, forgetting about what was going on for a moment. Without warning, Sonic and the creature's eyes were focused on the two Chao, and not even the warm grasp of a friend could help Chaolin now.

"Excellent!" the creature shouted, "You'll be the perfect Chao for our new karate! All we need to do now is put you into a little time hole..." Both him and Sonic suddenly rushed up to Chaosky and Chaolin and grabbed them, separating them. Chaolin screamed at the creature and his muscular, tight grip on her body.

The two of them seemed to be running at an impossible-to-match speed. Chaosky and Chaolin both yelled for help, but no help came. Everything that they had had over the past few weeks - Chaos Drives, fruit, even the water they had struggled in - vanished from their lives as they were flung right into the cave.

xXx

A few minutes after Chaosky began his walk back to the pagoda, he heard one of the humans calling his name. He ignored it - as a matter of fact, he totally blocked it out. The only thing on his mind was Chaolin. _Chaolin, Chaolin, Chaolin..._she was the only thing he could think about.

Chaosky took the slowest route possible back to the pagoda. He saw the other Chao - Dinner, Happy, Stormy, Wacky...but Chaolin was still all that mattered at the moment. _I'm so lucky, _Chaosky thought, _Most of these Chao have nobody, and Chaolin has always been there for me._

The consequences of what Chaosky was doing could impact all sorts of lives. They could be twisted, turned, distorted...but it didn't matter. Chaolin mattered. What he was about to do mattered. Nothing else even made a difference. That was all.

When he finally arrived at the pagoda, the humans were furious. "Where were you, Chaosky?" one cried, "We were calling your name...Didn't you listen? Are you deaf? _Where were you? _The Chao is already preparing for his first match! You have to listen to us, Chaosky!"

"No, I don't." Chaosky replied simply. He closed his eyes and thought - about Chaolin, about his life, about Flash and Angel...there was so much going on, and yet it could all be condensed into one thought - _Love. _Love was all that mattered.

At that very moment, the orb that had floated above his head since he had hatched from his egg was replaced with a little swirl that just wouldn't go away. Chaosky sat down and assumed a relaxed position. However, before he could do anything else, Chaolin rushed into the room, scars concealed.

"Chaosky!" she screamed, "What are you doing? Please, Chaosky, stop! I love you, but I don't like the look of what you're doing...!" She gasped as Chaosky looked up at her and merely smiled - the smile that she had practically survived on for the duration of her entire life.

"Chaolin," Chaosky began, "I love you. I will always love you. As a matter of fact, my love for you is immortal and invincible - just like a Chaos Chao. Be sure to think about me, okay, Chaolin?" Tears began running down his cheeks in tiny rivers. "Always, Chaolin. Always..."

"That's IT!" one of the humans yelled, "I'm tired of this love story! I think it's time for a Romeo and Juliet twist!" There was a loud _bang _sound that boomed throughout the pagoda twice, and within minutes, Chaolin's limp body was lying in a human's arms, with blood pouring down her face.

"Chaolin!" Chaosky screamed, "Never forget me, Chaolin!" Every memory he had ever had of Chaolin was there in front of his eyes. He was crying, but that didn't matter anymore. He gave her weak body one final smile. Then he closed his eyes and went into a gray cocoon.


End file.
